New Kent High School Volleyball: History

Trojans Prevail Over Blue Devils in Four
(Early Report)
A scrappy Mathews Blue Devils team took advantage of a critical player's injury and inconsistent serving by the New Kent Trojans to win the second game and force the match to four games before the visitors prevailed in their Tidewater District match last night. With standout middle hitter Erin Wicker nursing a pulled right quad, the Trojans struggled with their offense in the first two games. When New Kent players combined for nine service errors in game two, Mathews managed a 13-15 win to even the match at one win each. But a stern and emotional Coach Cynthia Burnett rallied her players, who played the rest of the match with focus and intensity including a 15-2 win in game three.

The game scores were 15-6, 13-15, 15-2, 15-11. New Kent's record is now 6-1 overall and 2-0 in district.

New Kent Defeats Middlesex In Three Games
New Kent was victorious last night in the Lady Trojans first match against a Tidewater District opponent. The Chargers of Middlesex High School came to New Kent with an undefeated record and high expectations, having scouted New Kent's losing performance to Lafayette last week. But it was a different New Kent team that took the court for this match and the Chargers went home for the sixth time in four years without taking a game from the Trojans. Game scores were 15-8, 15-11, 15-7.

The New Kent coaches credited the victory to a change in their service receive alignment. New Kent's Assitant Coach, Stuart Burnett, explained,

"We switched from a three-player service receive to the staggered four-player receive a few years ago when the high school rules changed to prohibit blocking the serve. It allowed us to push the setter forward and worked well against the typical level of serving we were seeing in Group-A. However, as we've begun playing more AA schools with stronger servers, going five players deep in the passing pool has become a problem. On Friday, I talked with Don Gresham, coach of the RVCs 18s National team, who had watched our game against Lafayette. He recommended we revisit the three-player alignment, so we gave it a quick look at the end of practice on Saturday. The girls liked it, so we put together a scheme Sunday night that had our top four passers in 17 of 18 passing positions. The team did a walk-through in a classroom during the JV match then went out and executed the new system flawlessly. I'm the only one who got confused and I had the diagram on the sideline!"

With the sets coming in on-target, the offense clicked the way it should with the team managing a combined .230 spiking efficency. Middle hitters Erin Wicker and Anna Mountcastle had the top numbers with 11 and 7 kills respectively, while right-side hitter Mary Howard was the most consistent with 3 kills in 7 attacks for .429 efficiency. Left-side hitters Liz Underwood and Nikki Gill tallied 4 and 3 kills respectively. Andrina Cason and freshman Erin Burnette both managed kills during brief entries into the third game.

New Kent's serving was improved over the Lafayette performance. Mary Howard served a five point run which included four aces when the team was behind in game two while Liz Underwood served up a six point run also with four aces to end the match. Megan Walsh added three aces to these while Mountcastle added two and Wicker one.

Wicker and Underwood were the steady passers, managing 2.36 and 2.10 averages (on a 3.00 scale) with 9 and 10 target-zone passes respectively. Mountcastle added 13 target-zone passes with a 1.90 average while Walsh added 6 passes to the zone with a 1.73 average.

New Kent's defense was "on" with a respectable eight team blocks and ten digs against the Chargers. Trudy Davis converted 21 of those passes and digs to assists and added three kills on setter dumps.

The win ups New Kent's record to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in district. Middlesex falls to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in district. The two teams meet again at Middlesex HS on January 4th, the first game for New Kent after the holiday break.

Lafayette d. New Kent in four games
(Early report)
Group AA opponent Lafayette defeated New Kent in a four-game match in their first-ever meeting. New Kent failed to pass effectively enough to generate consistent offense, while Lafayette utilized a mixture of hits, dinks, and setter dumps to out score the Lady Trojans.
New Kent's senior middle hitters Erin Wicker and Anna Mountcastle showed their experience and poise scoring fourteen and twelve attack kills respectively against Lafayette's 6'4" middle. Senior setter Trudy Davis dished out 23 assists, while seniors Liz Underwood, Mary Howard, and Nikki Gill also contributing several kills each.
Megan Walsh, a junior defensive specialist, had her best match of the season, serving consistently and recording many digs and good passes. Anna Mountcastle also had an outstanding night on the backrow, passing freeballs especially well which lead to many of New Kent's attack kills.
Underclassmen Stacey McLenaghan, Tiffany Fields, and Andrina Cason saw playing time during the match.
Lafayette is expected to be a contender in the Group-AA Bay Rivers district and was state runner-up in that division in 1999. New Kent's record falls to 2-1 as they prepare for their first district match against Middlesex on Monday, December 18.

Middlesex d. Mathews, Ready for New Kent
From the Daily Press, Dec 12, 2000.
Middlesex d. Mathews 9-15, 15-5, 15-8, 15-6: Middlesex stayed undefeated with a four set victory over previously undefeated Mathews to kick off the Tidewater District volleyball schedule. Brindley Lowe led the attack by pacing the offense with 27 assists and four aces. Lowe's assists benefitted Nadine Lemons, who finished with 10 kills, Joanna Williams with seven kills, Adrian Harris with nine kills and middle hitter Sarah Johnson with seven kills. Johnson was also solid at the net with four blocks. Lowe did get a chance to get into the finishing portion of the offense, sending down five kills to go with her game high 27 assists. The win sets up a showdown with defending Group A state champions New Kent on Monday.

VHSL Settles Title IX Case - All Volleyball Moves to Fall

VHSL PRESS RELEASE
The Virginia High School League Executive Committee agreed Wednesday to settle a Title IX lawsuit over the alignment of girls sports seasons.

Under the terms of the settlement, the League will pay the plaintiffs and their attorneys $327,000 for the jury's verdict and plaintiffs' attorneys fees. The Executive Committee approved a Finance Committee recommendation that the League liquidate a portion of its reserves and borrow the remainder to avoid an immediate assessment of member schools.

As a result of the League's action, and utilizing traditional seasons, all girls will play volleyball in the fall, basketball in the winter and tennis in the fall or spring as long as all groups are aligned, beginning with the 2003-04 school year.

VHSL attorney Craig Wood, of McGuireWoods, said, "It became clear during discussions of redistricting and reclassification for the next cycle that there has been a significant shift in attitudes about the alignment of seasons. In order to deal effectively with the problems of long-distance travel and missed class time while maintaining an emphasis on academics, schools need the flexibility to schedule competition across group lines. That can be done only if seasons are aligned. There was no need to appeal the jury decision on seasons if the outcome was going to be the same at the end of the day."

In Virginia, Groups A and AA have scheduled girls basketball in the fall, volleyball in the winter and tennis in the spring. Group AAA has scheduled volleyball and girls tennis in the fall and girls basketball in the winter. A survey commissioned by the League two years ago affirmed that the League was offering competition in the seasons preferred by the girls involved. That survey was used in defense of the lawsuit to support the contention that the League was in line with Title IX rules that seasons and schedules serve the interests of the girls who participated. Nevertheless, the jury in that lawsuit decided that the seasons should be aligned. The League had the option to appeal the decision, but chose not to because it believed that the public was ready for a change to traditional seasons.

Executive Director Kenneth G. Tilley explained, "The League exists to serve its members and the students in Virginia. We believe this settlement to be in the best interests of all concerned, and we look forward to the day when all girls will play their sports in the same season regardless of school size or geography."

With an increased emphasis on classroom instruction to meet SOL standards, schools have been much more concerned with travel time that would require students to miss classes or get home very late at night. The problem is particularly acute for schools isolated geographically from other schools of a comparable size. Many AAA or AA schools have said they would like to schedule nearby schools that might be part of a different enrollment group, but that is not possible in girls basketball, volleyball or tennis. There is increased interest in combination districts combining in one district schools from two different groups. With the realignment, those concerns will be resolved.

New Kent Defeats Northumberland
In their first match on the road, New Kent defeated Region A opponent Northumberland (15-4, 15-13). A much-improved Northumberland team hung with the Lady Trojans, who lacked the crisp execution they had displayed the night before against Jamestown. New Kent's record now stands at 2-0 while Northumberland falls to 0-2 having lost earlier in the week to New Kent district rival Middlesex.
With the Indians putting mostly freeballs and roll shots across the net, New Kent's blocking game was effectively neutralized, while the Lady Trojans struggled to get kills off their transition attacks. New Kent managed 18 kills in the match, but also generated 13 attacking errors on 54 attempts for a dismal .093 spiking efficiency.
Serving was also not up to the previous night's standards with 8 kills against 8 errors in 53 attempts for an 85% serving percentage.
Northumberland travels to New Kent on February 1, 2001 for the rematch. Since this will be the next-to-the-last match in New Kent's regular season, this should provide a good measure of how much the Lady Trojans have improved going into District and Regional competition.

New Kent Beats Jamestown
New Kent took three straight games (15-5, 16-14, 15-10) from Group AA opponent Jamestown in the Lady Trojan's first match of the season. Utilizing a strong serving and blocking game that prevented the Eagles from getting into their offensive rhythm, New Kent avenged a 2-3 loss at home from last season.
Anna Mountcastle was the star for New Kent in the first game. As the first server of the match, Mountcastle's topspin serve was "on" from the first whistle. By the time Jamestown earned their first sideout, Anna had served eight kills and put twelve points on the board. New Kent required only two more servers to closed out the game with a score of 15-5.
Jamestown started the second match showing their serving proficiency, with their first three servers working them into the lead while New Kent struggled to generate an effective attack. Fortunately New Kent's defense was solid all night, with Erin Wicker, Mountcastle, Trudy Davis, and Liz Underwood combining for five blocks and five digs in this game alone. Given the time to get over the "first match jitters", New Kent's offense eventually got cranked up with Davis connecting with Mountcastle for four kills and Underwood and rookie senior Nikki Gill for three. With Wicker, senior Mary Howard, and Davis contributing one kill each, New Kent tied the match at 14. At this point, New Kent Head Coach Cyndi Burnett made a strategic substitution, inserting junior Stacey McLenaghan to serve. Behind McLenaghan's two serves, including an ace on game point, the Lady Trojans went up two games to none.
The Eagles must have been worried when Mountecastle started off the third game with her ninth ace of the match, but after two more serves they managed a sideout. During the game, Wicker, Davis, and Howard each matched Mountcastle's ace, while Liz Underwood served up two. Meanwhile, it was Wicker's turn to put on an offensive show. The senior middle-hitter managed five kills with no errors in seven attempts, for a .714 spiking efficiency, including two awesome kills from deep in the backrow. Mountcastle also contributed two kills and two blocks while Howard added one of each. The Lady Trojans slowly moved ahead, again ending the game with McLenaghan serving, to win the game by five points and close out the best three-of-five match in straight games.
The win ups New Kent's record to 1-0 while Jamestown stands at 1-1. Jamestown is expected to contend with Lafayette for district honors in the Group AA Bay Rivers district which New Kent will join for the 2001-2002 season. This season's rematch is scheduled for Monday, January 15, 2001, at Jamestown.

New Kent Takes Three Games From Tab
New Kent won three games against Group AA opponent Tab High School during their scrimmage match this Wednesday. This was New Kent's second scrimmage on the road against a Bay Rivers District opponent.

Once again, New Kent head coach Cynthia Burnett ran all twelve team members through three different lineups over the course of the match. "We're not worried about winning these scrimmages, we want to see who can perform in a game," said Assistant Coach Stuart Burnett.

New Kent played a 6-2 offense in the first two games and a 5-1 offense in the third game. Senior Trudy Davis set in all three games with senior Liz Underwood and sophomore Tiffany Fields joining Davis in the first and second games respectively. Coach Burnett said that evaluating the team's potential with the 5-1 and 6-2 offenses was the coaching staff's primary goal for this scrimmage.

Poquoson defeats New Kent in scrimmage
Group AA Poquoson defeated New Kent, the reigning Group A state champions, in both team's opening competition for the year, 15-11, 15-7, 15-10. New Kent played all twelve players in the first two games, and eleven players in the deciding third game, while Poquoson played eight of eleven players during the match.
New Kent struggled with their new 5-1 offense after four years playing a 6-2, occassionally looking confused and uncomfortable deciding who should receive service.
New Kent generated 25 kills against 16 errors on 58 attemps, for a team hitting efficiency of .155. Erin Wicker, a 6'0" middle blocker, paced the New Kent offense with 11 kills, while senior outside hitters Liz Underwood and Mary Howard managed 5 & 4 kills respectively. Senior setter Trudy Davis contributed 18 assists and put in two kills of her own. Anna Mountcastle lead the team in passing with 15 passes to the target.

2000-2001 New Kent Varsity Outlook

This year's team, pictured at right, includes: (standing L to R) Andrina Cason (Jr), Mary Howard (Sr), Erin Wicker (Sr), Anna Mountcastle (Sr), Ashley Brammer (Jr), Erin Burnette (Fr), (sitting L to R) Megan Walsh (Jr), Trudy Davis (Sr), Nikki Gill (Sr), Liz Underwood (Sr), Stacy McLenaghan (Jr), & Tiffany Fields (So)
We’re excited to be returning eight players from last year’s Group A State Championship team. The 1999-2000 Lady Trojans compiled an 18-5 record on the way to becoming the first Region-A team to ever win the state championship. With players returning at the setting and middle hitting positions, we hope to fill-in our open positions and start over where we left off last season.
We will open our season with a different offense this year, running a 5-1 which utilizes one setter who sets on both the front and back row. Returning All-District player Trudy Davis will handle the setting responsibilities as the season begins. Davis brings a wealth of experience to the position, having served as the leadoff setter for last year’s team. She also has two seasons experience setting for Williamsburg club teams, a year as backup setter for our varsity, and two years experience setting for our JV program. Davis has a tough topspin serve so you can expect to see her coming up early in the serving order.
We’ll be looking to our two returning middle hitters to carry the load offensively in the early season. Last year Erin Wicker earned All-Region honors while Anna Mountcastle joined her on the all district team. This is Wicker’s fourth year on varsity and third year as a starter. Mountcastle has two years on varsity with this being her second year as a starting middle hitter. Both girls also play club ball, Anna with the Williamsburg club while Erin will play for the Richmond Volleyball Club were she is playing for the third year on the national team in her age group. Both girls are outstanding all-around players who can hit, block, pass, and serve at a high level. Erin was the team leader in spike kills last year, while Anna’s devastating topspin serves left opponents scattered on the floor throughout last year’s state tournament.
Carrying the load at the outside hitting positions will be seniors Liz Underwood, Mary Howard, and Nikki Gill. Underwood and Howard were members of last year’s state championship team, while Gill is the rare senior rookie, having chosen not to play last year after playing the year before for the JV team. Liz is a true utility player who can fill in at any position including setting if needed. Mary will fill the “Opposite” position as the player opposite our setter. Nikki will be concentrating on her outside hitting, while sharing her back row rotation with one of our defensive specialists.
Backing up the starters are hitters Andrina Cason, Ashley Brammer, and Erin Burnette and defensive specialists Megan Walsh, Tiffany Fields, and Stacy McLenaghan. Walsh, Brammer, and Cason all bring a year’s varsity experience to their roles and are ready to step in and play. Fields and McLenaghan are dividing their time between defense and setting as they learn the varsity offensive system having set last year for the JV. Burnette, a freshman, is making great progress learning the complex varsity hitting system.

New Kent Coach & Player Participate in All-Star Games
On Wednesday, July 12, New Kent High School volleyball head coach Cynthia Burnett and 2000 graduate Nicole Slosjarik participated in the VHSCA East-West All-Star game. The volleyball All-Star match was played at Heritage High School in Hampton as part of the Virginia High School Coaches Association's annual clinic and conference. Coach Burnett was an assistant coach for the east team, representing the Group-A coaches of Regions A & B, while Slosjarik was a setter for the team.

Coach Burnett completed her twelfth season at the helm of the Lady Trojans by capturing the Group-A state championship this winter. This is the first time a coach from Region A has been selected to serve on the coaching staff for the volleyball All-Star Team.

Nicole Slosjarik is the fifth New Kent volleyball player to play in the summer All-Star games. Slosjarik was also selected as the VHSCA Group-A Volleyball Player of the Year for her contributions to New Kent's state championship where she served as a setter and outside-hitter. An outstanding three-sport athlete, Nicole will attend Christopher Newport University in the fall where she will play softball for the Captains.

Following the all-star match at the VHSCA annual banquet on July 12, 2000, New Kent High School head volleyball coach Cynthia Burnett was recognized as the Virginia Women's High School Volleyball Coach of the Year. This honor is awarded by the VHSCA Legislative Council in recognition of long-term contributions and outstanding achievement in coaching high school volleyball. During her twelve years as head coach of the Lady Trojans, Coach Burnett's teams have accumulated a 192-70-1 record, won four district, one regional, and one state championship and made six appearances in the Group-A state tournament. Coach Burnett is the first coach from Region-A to receive this award.

Two other New Kent coaches were also honored at the same ceremony. Head basketball coach and New Kent AD Edward Allen, Jr. and girls track coach Joan Hudson received Coach of the Year recognition in their respective sports. Both coaches lead their teams to state championships in the preceding year, Allen in 2000 and Hudson in 1999.

Coach Burnett Selected for East All-Star Team
(Monday, April 2, 2001)
New Kent Volleyball Coach Cynthia Burnett was selected to be the Group-A coach for the Virginia High School Coaches Association East All-Star team. This is the second consecutive year that Coach Burnett has served as the representative for Regions A & B for Group-A.

This season Coach Burnett directed the Lady Trojan squad to a third consecutive Group-A Final Four appearance and the team's second appearance in the championship match. Coach Burnett joins the coaches from Loudon, the Group-AA champion, and Mills Godwin, the Group-AAA runner-up on the East All-Star Team coaching staff.

New Kent Coaches Recognizes Team & Players

Wicker, Mountcastle, Davis Recognized

(Thursday, March 8, 2001)

At the 2001 Winter Awards Program, New Kent Volleyball Head Coach Cynthia Burnett recognized the Lady Trojan team collectively and individually for an outstanding season.

The team was recognized for completing the season with a 22-5 record, the second highest number of wins and third best season by percentage of wins. The Lady Trojans finished the season as the Tidewater District regular season and tournament champions, Region-A champions, and runner-up in the VHSL Group-A State tournament.

Individually, all twelve of the original varstiy players received letters while two JV players, Eilene Wicker and Tara Durant, who were brought up during the closing weeks of the season were recognized for their contributions to the team.

Three seniors received individual recognition for their outstanding contributions to the program. Anna Mouncastle was recognized as the "Best Backrow Player" for her outstanding serving, passing, and backrow hitting. Erin Wicker was recognized as the "Best Frontrow Player" for her spiking and blocking. Trudy Davis was recognized as "Most Valuable Player" for her contributions as the team's setter.

New Kent - 2001 VHSL Group-A Runner-up

New Kent State Group-A Runner-Up
(Saturday, February 24, 2001)

The New Kent Lady Trojans played their final match of the 2000-2001 season for the VHSL Group-A State Championship. Playing for their second state championship in as many years, the Lady Trojans were unable to stop the strong outside attack of the undefeated Maroons of George Wythe High School (Wytheville), who won the match 15-13, 15-4.

New Kent jumped out to an early lead behind the serving of standout senior middle-hitter Anna Mountcastle. At one point in the first game, the contest was looking like a New Kent rout as the Lady Trojans enjoyed a 13-7 lead. Then George Wythe came roaring back in what must be one of the greatest momentum swings in the history of the state tournament. Scoring 18 un-answered points, the Maroons closed out the first game and took a 10-0 lead in the second game before New Kent earned their first sideout. New Kent managed to score four points in the second match, but they were never able to regain the momentum they showed early in the first game.

Besides her three service aces, Mountcastle contributed six digs and seven kills, while senior middlehitter Erin Wicker added five kills and two solo blocks. Senior setter Trudy Davis dished out twelve assists, while senior Liz Underwood added four kills.

New Kent ends an outstanding season as Tidewater District and Region A champions and Runner-up for the state championship. Finishing the season with a 22-5 record, their only loss to a Group-A opponent was in the state championship match. New Kent is also the only team in either Group-A or AA to compete in the past three VHSL Final Four tournaments.

New Kent Advaces to Championship Match

NK Team Celebrates Rye Cove Win

(Friday, February 23, 2001)

New Kent repeated their 2000 state championship victory over Region D champion Rye Cove to advance to the VHSL Group-A State Championship match for the second straight year. Rye Cove played a tough match, coming back in both games to lose by only two points after New Kent enjoyed early leads. Game scores were 16-14 and 15-13. The match was held as part of the joint Group A/AA Final Four tournament at Bassett High School near Martinsville, VA.

In the first game New Kent managed to maintain a small lead through most of the game. But Rye Cove played a scrappy and emotional game with great floor defense that often denighed the New Kent hitters appearent kills with great digs eventually tying the game at 14-14. Finally, New Kent managed to put the last two points on the board to win the game.

In game two, New Kent jumped out to a large lead and looked to be on the way to an easy win. But again, Rye Cove refused to give up and battled back to allow only a two point New Kent win. This was enough, however, and New Kent advances to their second state championship match in as many years against the winner of the first semifinal match, three-time state champion George Wythe of Wytheville who defeated Wilson Memorial handily, 15-8, 15-9.

New Kent will enter the championship match with a 22-4 record, undefeated in Group-A competition. Rye Cove ends the season with a 24-2 record.

New Kent Advances to State Final Four

New Kent Celebrates State QF Win

(Tuesday, February 20, 2001)

New Kent advances to the State Final Four for the third consecutive year by defeating Prince Edward 3-15, 15-4, 15-2. Prince Edward started strong in the first game, showing the Lady Trojans good serving and an atheletic, if non-traditional style of play that seemed to take New Kent out of their rhythm.

By the second game, the Lady Trojans seemed to figure out how to deal with the second hits and big block of the Prince Edward front line. Seniors Trudy Davis and Erin Wicker each contributed two service points to get the comeback started. Then New Kent rallied behind the consistent serving of junior defensive specialist Megan Walsh, who served for five service points to take the score to 10-1. Prince Edward setter and team captain, Jamie Rostan, managed three tough serves to close the score to 10-4, but that was to be the last chance for her team to score in that match. New Kent senior Anna Mountcastle stepped to the service line and served out the game managing three aces during her five service points. Middle hitter Wicker lead the offense in this game, managing four kills and a solo block while Mountcastle and senior Mary Howard each added a kill. Davis contributed four assists and a spectacular solo block against Prince Edward's big middle, Jennifer Jackson. On the backrow, Wicker also lead the defense with six digs while Mountcastle, Davis, and senior Liz Underwood contributed three each.

Prince Edward won the toss before the third game and elected to serve, which moved Mountcastle to the last serving position for the Lady Trojans. Both teams fought hard and as the end of the first rotation approached, the score stood at 4-2 in favor of New Kent. Then Mountcastle came up as the last server in the first rotation of the match. Ten points and two aces later the match was over. In between, Prince Edward took two time outs and made two substitutions trying to break Mountcastle's concentration, but to no avail. When Prince Edward did manage to pass a serve, New Kent was ready to put the ball back down. Wicker tallied five more kills on six attempts, while Howard added two and Davis supported with six assists and a dump for a point. Defensively, it was Underwood's turn to step up, recording six digs.

New Kent advances to the Group-A State Final Four with a 21-4 record to play Rye Cove whom they defeated last year in the state championship match. The match will be played at Bassett High School near Martinsville, VA around 5:30 on Friday, February 23. Prince Edward ends their season with a record of 19-5.

New Kent Places 3 on All-Region Team
Three New Kent players, Trudy Davis, Anna Mountcastle, and Erin Wicker, were named to the Group-A, Region A, All-Region 1st Team. All three players had previously been selected to the Tidewater District 1st Team. Joining the three Lady Trojans on the All-Region team were Brendley Lowe from Middlesex and Brandi Gayle and Amy Johnson from Franklin. Gayle was also named Region-A Player of the Year.

All six players will be eligible for consideration on the All-State 1st team, but only the New Kent and Middlesex players will be advancing to the state tournament.

New Kent Wins Region A Championship
(Saturday, February 17, 2001 - Early Report)

New Kent defeated Franklin and Middlesex to win the Region A championship for the second time in three years. Scores in the Franklin match were 15-12, 15-13. Scores in the Middlesex match were 15-6, 15-13.

Franklin ends their season with a 21-1 record. New Kent (20-4) and Middlesex (14-7)advance to the state quarterfinals. New Kent will host the runner-up of Region B on Tuesday, February 20, at 7:00 PM at New Kent High School. Middlesex will travel to the winner of Region B, expected to be Wilson Memorial.

New Kent Advances to Region A Final Four
(Wednesday, February 14, 2001)

New Kent advances to the Group-A, Region A Final Four by defeating Essex 15-3, 15-2. Essex entered the regional quarterfinals as the number two seed from the Northern Neck District. New Kent takes an 18-4 record into their regional semifinal match while Essex's season ends at 10-10.

The Region A tournament will be held at New Kent High School on Saturday, February 17. New Kent will face Tri-Rivers district champion Franklin in the first semifinal match at 10:00 AM. The number two seed from Tidewater, Middlesex, will face the number one see from the Norther Neck, Northumberland in the second semifinal match. The winners will play in the championship match that follows and both winners will advance to the quarterfinal round of the state tournament against the Region B finalist.

New Kent Wins Tidewater District Tournament
(Friday, February 9, 2001)

New Kent started slow but built momentum in a 15-12, 15-0 defeat of Tidewater district opponent Mathews to win the first semifinal match of the Tidewater District tournament.

In the second semifinal match, Mathews defeated West Point, tieing their records for the year at 2-2 but ending West Point's season.

In the tournament final, Middlesex came out strong, defeating New Kent in game one, 15-12. Coach Burnett responded with some lineup changes, and the Lady Trojans prevailed in games two and three, 15-7, 15-5 to add the tournament championship to their regular season crown.

Both teams will advance to the Region A tournament. New Kent will face Essex, number two in the Northern Neck, while Middlesex will face Arcadia, number one from the Eastern Shore district.

New Kent's record stands at 17-4.

New Kent JVs Win District Championship
(Friday, February 9, 2001)

The New Kent JV team avenaged a loss earlier in the week to Tidewater Distric rival Mathews, winning the JV tournament in straight games. Congratulations to Coaches Marian and Paul Davis and all the JV team members on an outstanding season and their championship win!

Lady Trojan seniors Trudy Davis and Erin Wicker have been named to the 2000 VHSCA Volleyball Senior All-Star team. The players will join New Kent coach Cyndi Burnett, who will be an assistant coach for the squad. The All-Star match will be held on Wednesday, July 11, at 2:00 PM at Heritage High School in Newport News, Virginia.

The Virginia High School Coaches Association recognizes outstanding high school seniors and coaches each year in many sports by hosting the Virginia East-West All-Star games at the association's annual convention and clinic. Players are nominated for the team by their high school coaches, but the All-Star coaches for the east and west areas make the final selections for their respective teams. This year, Davis was selected as one of two setters on the East team, while Wicker will play as an outside or middle hitter.

The All-Star games are unique in that athletes from all three divisions recognized by the Virginia High School League compete together on the same teams. For volleyball, each twelve-player team is composed of at least three players from each VHSL group, A, AA, and AAA and three players that can come from any group.

Rarely are two players selected from the same high school, but Wicker and Davis were recognized by the All-Star coaches for their individual abilities, their crucial roles in New Kent's consecutive state-championship appearances, and their experience as club players. This is the first time that New Kent has placed two players on the All-Star team in the same season. Davis and Wicker join an elite group of New Kent players who were selected to previous All-Star teams. This group includes Deborah Allen '94, Susan Lueke '95, Tricia Baldwin '97, Crystal Carey '99, and Nicole Slosjarik '00.

New Kent Players Recognized by VHSCA
(Monday, April 2, 2001)
Three New Kent Seniors were selected to the Group-A All-State teams named by the Virginia High School Coaches Association. Erin Wicker was selected to the All-State First team while Anna Mountcastle and Trudy Davis were named to the All-State Second team. All three players are seniors. Wicker and Mountcastle filled the middle blocker rolls for the Lady Trojans, while Davis was the 5-1 setter for the team that finished second in the state in VHSL Group-A play for the 2000-2001 season.

Selection to an All-State team is considered the highest honor that can be bestowed on a Virginia high school player. Players from all grades who are named to their All-Region First teams are eligible for consideration for this honor.

Wednesday, May 23Wicker Signs with Charleston Southern

Charleston Southern University has announced that Erin Wicker, a senior middle hitter for New Kent High School's state runner-up volleyball team, will attend the Charleston, S.C. university and join their Lady Buccaneers volleyball team this fall. CSU is an NCAA Division I school playing in the Big South conference.

Wicker should have an immediate impact on the Lady Buccaneers, who finished number eight in their conference last year. Erin was recognized as one of the outstanding senior volleyball players in the state of Virginia, being selected by the VHSCA to both their Senior All-Star team and to the Group-A All State first team. She was also named Best Front-Row Player by her New Kent High School coaches.

Wicker spent the spring playing club volleyball for the RVC 18s National team where she played both middle blocker and left side hitter.

East Wins All-Star Match in Three Games
(Wednesday, July 11, 2001)

With three members of the New Kent Lady Trojans squad participating, the East team dominated in the VHSCA Senior All-Star Volleyball games played at Heritage High School in Hampton, Virginia in July. The East team won in straight games for the third year in a row, 15-11, 15-4, 15-8.

New Kent was well represented in the match. Senior setter Trudy Davis started all three games as the primary setter for the East team, while senior middle-hitter Erin Wicker started in the middle blocker position. The Lady Trojans' head coach, Cynthia Burnett served as the "line-up" coach for the East team, while assistant coach Stuart Burnett served as the announcer for the event.

Wicker contributed six kills and two blocks to the East's victory, while Davis contributed 15 assists, five digs, five service aces, and one attack kill. In game three Davis launched the team to a 7-0 lead with a string of unreturnable serves that had the West team members diving all over the court.

Wicker will continue her volleyball career at Charleston Southern University, a member of the NCAA Division I Big South Conference. For Davis the All-Star match represented her last for a scholastic team. She will attend Virginia Tech in the fall.

District & Regional Tournaments at New Kent
(Wednesday, February 7, 2001)

New Kent will host both the Tidewater District volleyball tournament and the Region A volleyball tournament.

The Tidewater District tournament will be held Friday, February 5, with number one seed New Kent facing number four seed Mathews in the first semifinal match at 4:30 PM. The second semifinal match will follow pitting West Point against Middlesex for the right to advance to the Region A tournament as the number two team from Tidewater. This match should begin about 5:45.

The Mathews and New Kent JVs will square off around 7:00 PM for the JV championship match, while the varsity championship should begin around 8:30.

The Region A quarterfinal matches will be held at the site of the higher seed (New Kent being one) on Wednesday, February 14, beginning at 7:00 PM. The semifinals and finals matches will be held at New Kent on Saturday, February 17. The starting time has yet to be set.

New Kent Sweeps Mathews in Three
(Monday, February 5, 2001, early report)

New Kent sweep Tidewater District opponent Mathews in straight games, 15-8, 15-6, 15-3. Coach Burnett started an all-senior lineup in the first game, the last match of the regular season.

New Kent completes the regular season with a 15-4 overall record and a 6-0 district record. Mathews finishes with a 0-6 district record and 9-6 overall record. New Kent will meet Mathews on in the first district semifinal match on Friday, Feb 9, at New Kent at 4:30 PM.

New Kent Rallies to Defeat Middlesex
(Saturday, January 3, 2001)

New Kent rallied from a 7-15 first game loss to Tidewater District opponent Middlesex, to eek out a win in the second game, 15-13. The Lady Trojans won the third game comfortably 15-10, preserving their unbeaten record against Tidewater District opponents.

Playing after sitting out the second match of the tri-meet between West Point, New Kent, and Middlesex, the Lady Trojans looked un-inspired in the first game against a Chargers squad that had just lost a close match with West Point. New Kent managed only a .083 attack efficiency as a team, was negative on serving, and managed only 4 target-zone passes in 20 attempts. Middlesex seized the opportunity to post its first victory of the season over New Kent.

In the second set, Coach Burnett's team rallied, slowly working out to a 13-8 lead in a hard-fought game that saw many long rallies. At this point, Middlesex sustained a brief run, closing to within a point at 14-13. But the Lady Trojans managed to score the final point and even the match at a game each.

The third match went comfortably to New Kent, with the fans again enjoying many long rallies and spectacular saves. Senior middle hitter Anna Mountcastle stepped up to score six times on spike kills and twice on service aces while adding five digs to lead the New Kent effort. Classmate Trudy Davis contributed nine assists and two aces.

Overall, Davis dished out 30 assists and dug 10 Charger attacks while Mountcastle tallied 17 kills and 10 digs. Junior Stacey McLenaghan lead the defensive effort with 17 digs and added two aces. Sophomore Tara Duranta, recently pulled up from the JV team, added 15 digs and a spike kill in her third varsity appearance.

New Kent's record now stands at 14-4 overall while Middlesex stands at 11-5.

New Kent Wins Battle of Benches
(Saturday, February 3, 2001)

With both New Kent and West Point missing critical starting players, New Kent's bench proved to be stronger in a two-game, 15-8, 15-1 victory over neighboring West Point. New Kent played without middle hitter Erin Wicker while West Point played without middle hitter Stephanie Ashley and outside hitter Megan Thompson.

The match was the first in a series of three played at New Kent High School that day as Tidewater District rivals New Kent, West Point, and Middlesex held a late season tri-meet to make up the matches they lost when district opponent King & Queen failed to field a team this season. The programs agreed that the matches would not count toward their district records and used the 2/3 post season format rather than the 3/5 format the district uses in the regular season.

Senior setter Trudy Davis had an outstanding match, recording 10 assists in 12 sets with no errors for a .833 setting efficiency. Davis was supported in her efforts by three Lady Trojans who scored 1.000 attack efficiencies for the match. Senior Mary Howard and junior Andrina Cason each went 3-for-3 hitting while classmate Ashley Brammer was 2-for-2.

New Kent's record improves to 13-4 overall while West Point's record stands at 10-4.

New Kent Defeats Northumberland
(Thursday, February 1, 2001)

The Lady Trojans of New Kent High School defeated Region-A rival Northumberland in straight games, 15-6, 15-11, 15-4. Coach Burnett took the opportunity to play her entire team, including sophomore JV standouts Eileen Wicker and Tara Durant who were brought up for the match. Unfortunately their absence was evident in the JV match in which Northumberland defeated the New Kent JVs 5-15, 15-7, 7-15, avenging a loss earlier in the season to the Lady Trojans. This was only the third loss of the season for the junior Lady Trojans.

Match standouts for New Kent include senior setter Trudy Davis who tallied 24 assists, 4 attack kills, and 3 service aces; senior middle hitter Anna Mountcastle who lead the Trojan’s attack with a match-high 17 kills and added 7 digs and 4 aces; senior right-side hitter Mary Howard who put down 7 kills and 1 block; junior Andrina Cason who, in her debut at the middle hitter position managed 6 kills and 2 blocks; and the three Trojan defensive specialists, juniors Megan Walsh and Stacey McLenaghan and sophomore Tiffany Fields, who accounted for 31 digs and 4 aces between them.

New Kent's record now stands at 12-4 overall and 5-0 in the Tidewater District. Northumberland, the leader in the Northern Neck District, leaves the match with a 9-5 overall record and a 9-0 record in their district. Northumberland faces Northern Neck rival Essex Friday, February 02, in a match that could determine the winner of their regular season, or, if Essex wins, force a
playoff match for the top seed.

Lady Trojans Set Records in Powhatan Win
(Tuesday, January 27, 2001)

The Lady Trojans of New Kent High School rallied from a two game deficit to defeat the Lady Indians of Powhatan High School 11-15, 6-15, 15-13, 15-7, 15-10. In the process, three players broke school records.

Trudy Davis set new match records for assists and digs by setting 46 times for kills and digging 27 balls. Anna Mountcastle and Erin Wicker both eclipsed what is believed to be the previous record for spike kills in a match, 21, a record set earlier in the season by Wicker in a match against Lafayette. Mountcastle tallied 22 kills, while Wicker burned the Indians 28 times to set the new record.

New Kent's record improves to 11-4 overall, 5-0 in the Tidewater District. Powhatan falls to 14-3 overall.

New Kent Wins District Regular Season
(Thursday, January 25, 2001, early report)

The New Kent Lady Trojans secured their position as the Tidewater District Champions by defeating West Point in four games. With a 5-0 regular season district record, New Kent locked up the both the top seed into the district tournament and an automatic seed into the regional tournament.

New Kent dominated the first two games, but West Point refused to give up, coming back with a convincing win in the third game behind the serving of Ashley Wilson. But the Lady Trojans regrouped for the forth game taking the victory and the coveted tournament berths.

New Kent's record now stands at 5-0 in district and 10-4 overall. West Point's record was not available.

New Kent Sweeps Powhatan in Three
(Friday, January 19, 2001)

After losing two matches to Group-AA opponents earlier in the week, New Kent got off to a shaky start on the road against Group-AA Powhatan. But, after New Kent Coach Cynthia Burnett called a time-out with her team behind 1-6 in the first game, the Lady Trojans allowed Powhatan only two points to their 14, taking control of the game and the match and sweeping the Group-AA Powhatan in straight games, 15-8, 15-4, 15-7.

New Kent's recovery was based on an outstanding 100% serving percentage in game one with three aces each being contributed by seniors Anna Mountcastle and Erin Wicker. Mountcastle and Wicker also contributed three spike kills a each while seniors Trudy Davis, Mary Howard, and Nikki Gill each chipped in for a single spike kill. As a team the Lady Trojans hit for an outstanding .636 attack efficiency in this game. Setter Davis received assists for six of the team's nine kills.

Defensively, Wicker contributed a solo block and four perfect passes. Defensive specialist Megan Walsh managed two digs and two target-zone passes, Tiffany Fields added three perfect passes and one dig, while Stacey McLenaghan and Davis each added three digs to the turn around.

In game two, New Kent maintained it's pace, allowing Powhatan only four points in the game. By this time the New Kent offense was on a role tallying sixteen kills for the game. The offense was also more balanced with Wicker and Howard contributing four kills, Mountcastle three, and Gill two. In a continuation of her debut performance the night before against Lafayette, varsity rookie, Eileen Wicker, up from the JV team for the two matches, added three kills on five swings with no errors, stretching her run to five kills in eight swings with no errors. Congratulations Eileen! Davis sets accounted for fourteen of the New Kent kills while right-side hitter Howard added one assist off a Davis dig.

Defensively, the two Wicker sisters each managed a solo block in the game, while Mountcastle and McLenaghan stepped up on the back row with five and four digs respectively.

New Kent continued their domination of the hosts in beginning of game three, while Powhatan managed a brief rally near the end of the match managing seven points in this game. The New Kent offense peppered their opponents with fourteen spike kills in this game, with Erin Wicker leading the team with five kills, no errors, in eight swings for her second .600+ game of the night. Davis, Mountcastle, Howard, and Andrina Cason each contributed two spike kills while junior Ashley Brammer added one of her own. Davis assisted on nine of the kills and managed three more digs. Mountcastle found "the zone" with her top-spin serve and managed four aces in six serves with no errors. The senior Wicker helped set up the offense with four perfect passes while Walsh added three of her own.

New Kent's record improves to 9-4 overall, 4-0 in district. This is only Powhatan's second loss. The rematch will occur at New Kent on January 30.

Wicker Sisters Make History

Erin (left) and Eileen Wicker

(Friday, January 19, 2001)

Sisters Erin and Eileen Wicker made history by becoming the first siblings to play together on a New Kent volleyball team. Erin, a senior, has been a starting member of the varsity team since her freshman year. Eileen, a sophomore, was a likely varsity team member for this season until injuries at the end of the Cross Country season, where she is a state-ranked competitor, prevented her from trying out for the team.

As a two-year started for New Kent's JV volleyball squad, Eileen made that squad with a "zero movement" tryout and once recovered has had an outstanding season, serving, setting, and hitting outside for Coach Marian Davis' team. When the varsity ran into trouble with injuries and illness, the call went out to Coach Davis for one-each front and backrow players for the critical Lafayette and Powhatan matches.

Eileen was an immediate choice for her all-around ability, and was joined by JV teammate Tara Durant in the defensive specialist role. With only a single practice to learn the varsity offense and defense, both players saw action in both matches and lived up to their coaches' expectations.

Playing in the left front position, Eileen managed a combined match total of five kills in eight swings with one error for an outstanding .500 spiking efficiency. She also contributed a solo block. Quite a debut for a varsity rookie!

Eileen will return to the JV for their critical rematch against Tidewater District opponent West Point. After that...well, Eileen still has her varsity jersey!

New Kent and Lafayette Go the Distance
(Thursday, January 18, 2001)

New Kent & Lafayette played an amazingly close five game match, with New Kent coming out on the short end by just two points in game five, the only game in which both teams scored in double figures. Lafayette won the match three games to two with scores of 15-7, 5-15, 8-15, 15-5, & 14-16, but only out-scored New Kent by one point for the entire match.

The first game started with New Kent easily handling Lafayette with 6'4" middle blocker Daniell Dubetz on the bench due to a missed practice. The New Kent offense generated 11 kills, over half on Rams' overpasses. Erin Wicker accounted for five kills, while Mary Howard added three and setter Trudy Davis contributed two kills on dumps. Davis also scored on three service aces while Anna Mountcastle added three of her own.

In the second game the New Kent offense struggled with poor service passes only generating three kills between Wicker and Mountcastle, the middle blockers. The Rams' momentum carried over to game three, though a New Kent rally near the end resulted in seven spike kills and a closer score.

The Lady Trojans capitalized on Rams' service-receive problems in game four to tie the match while tallying four spike kills and four service aces. This set up the tie-breaking fifth game.

Lafayette jumped out to a quick lead which they held through out the game until the Lady Trojans made a run from 10-14 to tie the game at 14-all. Lafayette pulled ahead on an ace serve which caught New Kent re-aligning their service receive when the referee blew the whistle for the serve. The final point came on an errant New Kent spike. Both middles had great games for New Kent, Wicker tallied ten spike kills, Mountecastle had five, while Davis contributed 11 assists and three aces.

The home match with Lafayette High School scheduled for Tuesday, January 16 has been moved to Thursday, January 18. The match will still be held at New Kent High School. The JV contest will start at 6:00 PM. The varsity match will start 20 minutes after the conclusion of the JV match.

Jamestown Wins In Second Meeting
(Monday, January 15, 2001 - Early Report)

The Jamestown Eagles defeated the Lady Trojans of New Kent in three straight games, avenging an 0-3 loss to New Kent earlier in the season. New Kent was without senior starters Liz Underwood, out with a sprained ankle, and Erin Wicker, who had a stomach virus. New Kent tried several different combinations of players, but was never able to generate consistent offense and was unable to stop Jamestown's left-side attackers.

Middlesex Defeats West Point in Five Game Match
(Thursday, January 11, 2001)

Middlesex defeated West Point in a five game match to even the record between the two teams and move into a potential tie for second place in the Tidewater District.

The Tidewater District records are:
4-0 New Kent
2-2 West Point
2-3 Middlesex
0-3 Mathews

New Kent has already defeated Middlesex twice and West Point and Mathews once each. The Lady Trojan's second match against the Pointers will occur at West Point on Thursday, January 25. Lady Trojans will not face the Chargers again until the last game of the regular season, which will occur on Monday, February 5 at New Kent.

New Kent Hands West Point First Loss
(Monday, January 8, 2001)

New Kent handed West Point its first loss of the season with a three-game victory over the reigning Tidewater and Region-A champions. Last season the two teams meet six times alternating victories with West Point winning the Tidewater District and Region-A championships while New Kent won the Tidewater District Tournament and state semi-final match on it's way to the becoming the 2000 state champions.

New Kent took the lead in the first game at 2-0 on two Trudy Davis service kills and West Point never managed better than a 2-2 tie score after that. New Kent ran a balanced attack with all six front row players and five of six servers contributing kills. In game one, Erin Wicker and Mary Howard paced the Lady Trojans with three spike kills while Anna Mountcastle contributed two and Trudy Davis, Nikki Gill, and Andrina Cason each added one.

In game two, the Lady Pointers jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the serving of Erin Wilson, but New Kent matched each West Point score tying the game at 2-2 and 4-4 before moving ahead 8-4 on the serving of Mountcastle and Davis who managed one and two kills respectively. In the next two rotations the Pointers added three points to New Kent's two to close to 7-10. In the next sideout, West Point appeared to close to 9-10 on Lindsey Brizendine's two consecutive aces before being caught serving out-of-rotation by New Kent's scorer Anna Stuart Burnett. The points were removed and proper rotation assumed which brought Brizendine up serving again after the next sideout. This time she netted her first serve, which brought up New Kent's Megan Walsh who served for two points including one service kill. The Lady Trojans earned the three points needed to close out the game on the next two sideouts to go up two games to none in the best of five match.

The third game started out like the second with West Point enjoying a 0-1 lead at the end of the first rotation. After the second rotation the score was 2-1 in favor of New Kent and the hosts never relinquished the lead again. New Kent continually added points, never going more than two rotations without increasing their score, ending for the second consecutive game with Davis serving the final two points.

This game saw the New Kent net game catch fire, especially Wicker who tallied seven kills in nine swings with no errors for a sizzling .777 spiking efficiency. To this Wicker added seven blocks. Mountcastle contributed three kills and three blocks of her own while Howard and Gill each added a kill and a block and Davis scored her fifth attack kill of the match on a setter dump. Howard and Davis also burned the Pointers twice each on serves with Mountcastle and Walsh added an ace each.

For the match, Wicker lead all attackers with thirteen kills, followed by Mountcastle - 7, Howard & Davis - 5, Gill - 4, and Cason - 2. Davis dished out 24 assists and led the servers with seven kills followed by Mountcastle, Howard, and Walsh with 3 and Wicker and Stacey McLenaghan with 1. Wicker also led the defense with eight blocks again followed by Mountcastle with four, Howard with two, and Gill and Davis with one each.

With the win, New Kent improves to 4-0 in district and 8-2 overall. West Point stands at 3-1 in district and 6-1 overall. The two teams meet for the second time at West Point on Thursday, January 25.

New Kent defeated two of three Group-AA opponents in today's Waynesboro HS tournament to finish as the runner-up to the host Waynesboro Little Giants. Playing a tough draw with back-to-back matches against the two strongest teams, the Lady Trojans prevailed in their first match against Heritage HS (Lynchburg), but faded in the match against the hosts as New Kent's continuous playing time stretched to three hours and fifteen minutes.

Despite New Kent's finish as the tournament runner-up, New Kent players Erin Wicker, Anna Mountcastle, and Trudy Davis were honored with three of the six positions on the All-Tournament team. Davis was the only setter to be named to the All-Tournament team, while Wicker and Mountcastle were joined by a middle hitter from both Waynesboro and Heritage and a defensive specialist from the hosts.

New Kent started the day with a very competative match against Heritage HS. Game scores were 15-8, 16-14, 15-12. In the tournament format, all three games were played, with the winner being decided by matches won, games won, and points allowed. With each point possibly being important in deciding the tournament winner, both teams fought hard, even in the non-deciding third game.

Trudy Davis was the standout player for New Kent in the Heritage match, tallying 28 assists and five kills on setter dumps for a .571 attack efficiency. Mary Howard also had a good match hitting from the opposite position and contributing 7 kills for a .130 attack efficiency.

But the Lady Trojans fortunes turned in their second match against the host team. With the organizers trying to play nine matches in about nine hours New Kent went litteraly from post game handshake with Heritage to the coach's and captain's meeting with Waynesboro. With no rest what-so-ever, the Lady Trojans were back out on the floor for another three games against the toughtest team in the tournament.

New Kent got off to a slow start in game one, losing 5-15, but appeared to be on the road to rally in game two when they found themselves up 13-6. But as the match ground on, running past two and a half hours of continous play, New Kent seemed to just run out of energy and Waynesboro eventually prevailed 13-15. Wayneboro also prevailed in the third game winning 9-15.

Defeating New Kent essentially ensured Waynesboro of winning the tournament since they would again got another match break while Heritage and Western albermarle played, then face Heritage in the following match.

As expected, Heritage beat Western Albermarle, then fell to Waynesboro in a match that looked much like New Kent's loss, close in the first game, with the team going back to back gradually playing worse as the match stretched out.

In the closing match of the tournament, New Kent defeated Western Albermarle 15-2, 15-1, 15-7, in what may have been the most lopsided match of the tournament. With a two match rest and a late lunch, the Lady Trojans came out ready to redeem themselves after losing to Waynesboro.

Every New Kent front row player managed a kill with middle hitter Erin Wicker putting on a spiking demonstation, hitting 14 kills in the match. Outside hitter Liz Underwood managed 3 kills in 4 swings before spraining her ankle during a triple-block in the second game. Anna Mountcastle added 6 kills, Andrina Cason 4, Ashley Brammer 2, and Nikki Gill and Erin Burnette tallied one each. All hitters had spiking efficiencies over .200 for the match while the team managed a composite .436. Trudy Davis dished out 23 assists in the spike fest, while Underwood, Wicker, and Davis added 3, 2, and 1 service kills. Defensive specialist Stacey McLaneghan also added a service kill.

New Kent's record climbs to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in district as the Lady Trojans prepare to host Tidewater District rival West Point this Monday night.

Wicker, Mountcastle, & Davis All Tourny

New Kent Wins Second Match Against Middlesex
(Thursday, Jan 4, 2001)

New Kent won it's second match of the year against Tidewater District opponent Middlesex. The Lady Trojans defeated the Chargers in straight games, 15-13, 15-9, 15-12 in a match that was closer than their earlier contest and lasted over 90 minutes.

Senior middle hitter, Erin Wicker, had an outstanding night recording 15 spike kills with only 2 errors in 28 attemps for a .464 spiking efficiency. To this she added two blocks, four service aces, and five digs. New Kent's other senior, middle hitter, Anna Mountcastle, managed 8 spike kills but largely offset this with 7 hitting errors. Moountcastle also tallied 4 solo blocks and 3 digs.

Senior setter Trudy Davis dished out 11 assists, while sophmore Tiffany Fields managed 3 assists in the third game in her varsity setting debut. The designated setters got some valuable assistance from New Kent's right side hitters in this match with senior Liz Underwood contributing three assists while juniors Megan Walsh and Ashley Brammer added one assist apiece.

Walsh and Davis also had good defensive matches adding 6 and 8 digs respectively, while Junior Stacey McLenaghan contributed 7 digs. Walsh, Davis, and Underwood all tallied 2 service kills.

With the win, New Kent ups their record to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the district. Middlesex falls to 6-3 overall and 0-3 in the district.

The New Kent JV also prevailed in their match, winning in two games. New Kent started off with a poor passing display that saw Middlsex jump out to a 6-1 lead early in game one. While the passing improved, other miscues found New Kent behind 12-2 on the verge of losing game one. But Coach Davis rallied her players and New Kent stormed back behind the serving of Christi Allen to take the game 16-14. With the momentum behind them, the second game wasn't close, and soon the New Kent JV had secured their sixth straight victory of the season so maintain their undefeated record.

New Kent's Tidewater District rivals West Point and Middlesex met for the first time this season. In a match that neither team seemed to want to win, only one game ended with a margin of more than two points. The game scores were 15-13, 13-15, 15-11, 16-14. West Point was up 15-8 in the fourth game, before Middlesex's Nadine Lemmons served for six straight points to tie the score at 14-14. Unfortunately, the go-ahead serve went wide and West Point's Megan Thompson seized the opportunity to win the match with two service kills off Middlesex passing errors.

New Kent faces Middlesex on the road this Thursday, January 4, and West Point at home on Monday, January 8. In between, New Kent will face three Group-AA schools this Saturday, January 6 at Waynesboro High School.

Four Alumnae Attend Reunion
(Saturday, December 30, 2000)
The annual alumnae reunion was held Saturday, December 30, at the New Kent Middle School. Due to other committments, the turnout this year was small, but it was great seeing Katie Bailey '00, Leann Calvert '99, Heather Vaden '97, and Susan Lueke '95. We hope all the alumnae will make plans to attend next year when the reunion has been tentatively scheduled for Monday, December 31.

State Champs in VB Magazine

Picture Published in Volleyball magazine

(Saturday, December 23, 2000)

The 1999-2000 state champion New Kent Volleyball team is featured in the "Teams of the Month" section of the February 2001 Volleyball magazine which arrived last Saturday. Apologies to Andrina Cason, Megan Walsh, and Coach Cyndi Davis Burnett, all of whom had their names misspelled in the accompanying article. If you don't have a subscription toVolleyball, it's available on the periodical racks of bookstores like Barnes & Noble.